Device for automatically wrapping eating utensils in a napkin

ABSTRACT

An improved device for automatically wrapping eating utensils in a napkin of the type having hoppers for holding the eating utensils sortingly, a tray for holding the napkin, a staging assembly for receiving the napkin from the tray and the eating utensils from the hoppers on top of the napkin, a wrapping assembly for wrapping the napkin around the eating utensils so as to form a wrapped set of eating utensils, and a banding assembly for providing a band around, so as to hold together, the wrapped set of eating utensils. The improvement includes an ultraviolet light assembly disposed in each of the hoppers and which generates ultraviolet light directly upon all surfaces of the eating utensils after the eating utensils have been loaded into the hoppers so as to sanitize the eating utensils from contaminates the eating utensils picked up prior to, and during, loading of the eating utensils into the hoppers.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention relates to a device for wrapping eatingutensils in a napkin. More particularly, the present invention relatesto an improved device for automatically wrapping eating utensils in anapkin.

[0003] 2. Description of the Prior Art

[0004] Within a large segment of the food service industry, food serviceproviders serve millions of customers reusing a small inventory ofsilverware, also referred to herein as eating utensils, which are washedafter each use.

[0005] Because individually handling eating utensils to set places attables is time-consuming, a significant number of food service providerssupply eating utensils in bundles which are prepared well in advance ofuse by manually wrapping the necessary utensils in napkins.

[0006] While this procedure provides more rapid dispensing of utensilswhen needed, and facilitates the rapid resetting of tables for use, suchpreparation remains labor intensive. For high volume restaurants andchains, the labor costs may be in the tens of thousands of dollarsannually per restaurant.

[0007] Numerous innovations for silverware and napkin manipulatingdevices have been provided in the prior art that will be described. Eventhough these innovations may be suitable for the specific individualpurposes to which they address, however, they do not teach a device forautomatically wrapping eating utensils in a napkin.

[0008] FOR EXAMPLE, U.S. Pat. No. 5,046,297 to Lippert et al. teaches areceiving station of a packaging machine for stacks of folded papernapkins or the like having a cassette with a base plate and a coverplate. The spacing between the base and cover plates changesautomatically not only during the course of each operating cycle, ratherthe basic spacing between the cover and base plates also capable ofbeing adjusted while the machine is operating, in order to be able toquickly and reliably adapt the width of the cassette to different stackthicknesses.

[0009] ANOTHER EXAMPLE, U.S. Pat. No. 5,117,928 to Weihe teaches anapparatus for receiving and sorting a plurality of pieces of flatwarefor delivery of the flatware to a holding or storage mechanism, theapparatus comprising a tube mechanism comprising a wall forming a tubehaving an open end for slidable delivery of the flatware pieces to aholding mechanism, the tube mechanism having a selected length, aselected internal volume and a slot extending lengthwise in the wall forreceiving pieces of flatware lengthwise through the slot, the flatwarepieces having a selected length and depth. The tube mechanism ispivotably mounted on a support structure at a selected point along thelength of the tube mechanism such that the slot is disposed upwardly forreceiving the pieces of flatware downwardly through the slot and intothe internal volume of the tube mechanism. The tube mechanism ispivotably mounted on the support structure for pivoting between astationary at-rest position and non-stationary positions such that thetube mechanism is disposed in a tilted orientation relative tohorizontal when in the stationary at-rest position. The supportstructure includes a pivot stop for limiting the degree of the tiltedorientation of the at-rest position. A stop mechanism is included forholding pieces of flatware received within the internal volume of thetube mechanism against sliding out of the tube mechanism when the tubeis in the at-rest tilted orientation.

[0010] Accordingly, the need exists for an apparatus that automaticallywraps eating utensils in a napkin. Such a need has been met by U.S. Pat.No. 5,469,688 to Dunbar et al. which teaches a prior art device forautomatically wrapping eating utensils in a napkin.

[0011] The configuration of the prior art device 10 for automaticallywrapping eating utensils 12 in a napkin 14 can best be seen in FIG. 1,which is a diagrammatic perspective view of a typical prior art devicefor automatically wrapping eating utensils in a napkin, and as such,will be discussed with reference thereto.

[0012] The device 10 includes hoppers 16 for holding the eating utensils12 sortingly, and which have interior surfaces 15 with heights forfacing and surrounding the eating utensils 12 and mouths 17 forintroducing the eating utensils 12 therein.

[0013] The device 10 further includes a tray 18 for holding the napkin14.

[0014] The device 10 further includes a staging assembly 20 that isoperatively connected to the hoppers 16 and to the tray 18 for receivingthe napkin 14 from the tray 18 and the eating utensils 12 from thehoppers 16 on top of the napkin 14.

[0015] The device 10 further includes a wrapping assembly 22 that isoperatively connected to the staging assembly 20 for wrapping the napkin14 around the eating utensils 12 so as to form a wrapped set of eatingutensils.

[0016] The device 10 further includes a banding assembly 24 that isoperatively connected to the wrapping assembly 22 for providing a bandaround, so as to hold together, the wrapped set of eating utensils andform a banded wrapped set of eating utensils 26.

[0017] While this device provides automatic wrapping of eating utensilsin a napkin, such a device does not assure that the eating utensils aresanitary at the point of wrapping.

[0018] It has been found that bacteria or other microorganisms,including mold spores, yeast and virus, can be destroyed in the air oron exposed surfaces if they are subjected to ultraviolet light with awavelength of 253.7 nanometers.

[0019] Research performed by Dr. Harvey C. Rentschler of WestinghouseLaboratories in the early 1930's led to the development of theSterilamp® Ultraviolet Tube, which tube emits UV light with thatwavelength. In order for the UV light from these tubes to killmicroorganisms, the rays must directly strike them.

[0020] The exposure to UV light necessary to kill bacteria (or the“kill” factor) is a product of time and intensity. If the bacteria ormold spores are hidden below the surface of a material or are not in thedirect path of the rays, they will not be destroyed.

[0021] There is, however, a danger to humans from use of UV light;radiation sickness. This manifests itself as a reddening of the skin oran irritation of the eyes if there is prolonged, or intense, exposure tothe rays. For this reason, UV lights must be shielded to prevent director reflected from striking humans.

[0022] Accordingly, the need exists for an apparatus that not onlyautomatically wraps eating utensils in a napkin, but assures that theeating utensils are sanitary at the point of wrapping.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0023] ACCORDINGLY, AN OBJECT of the present invention is to provide animproved device for automatically wrapping eating utensils in a napkinthat avoids the disadvantages of the prior art.

[0024] ANOTHER OBJECT of the present invention is to provide an improveddevice for automatically wrapping eating utensils in a napkin that issimple to use.

[0025] BRIEFLY STATED, STILL ANOTHER OBJECT of the present invention isto provide an improved device for automatically wrapping eating utensilsin a napkin of the type having hoppers for holding the eating utensilssortingly, a tray for holding the napkin, a staging assembly forreceiving the napkin from the tray and the eating utensils from thehoppers on top of the napkin, a wrapping assembly for wrapping thenapkin around the eating utensils so as to form a wrapped set of eatingutensils, and a banding assembly for providing a band around, so as tohold together, the wrapped set of eating utensils. The improvementincludes an ultraviolet light assembly disposed in each of the hoppersand which generates ultraviolet light directly upon all surfaces of theeating utensils after the eating utensils have been loaded into thehoppers so as to sanitize the eating utensils from contaminates theeating utensils picked up prior to, and during, loading of the eatingutensils into the hoppers.

[0026] The novel features which are considered characteristic of thepresent invention are set forth in the appended claims. The inventionitself, however, both as to its construction and its method ofoperation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, willbe best understood from the following description of the specificembodiments when read and understood in connection with the accompanyingdrawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

[0027] The figures of the drawing are briefly described as follows:

[0028]FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic perspective view of a typical prior artdevice for automatically wrapping eating utensils in a napkin;

[0029]FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic perspective view of the presentinvention; and

[0030]FIG. 3 is an enlarged diagrammatic top plan view taken in thedirection of ARROW 3 in FIG. 2 of the ultraviolet light assembly of thepresent invention.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS UTILIZED IN THE DRAWING Prior Art

[0031]10 prior art device for automatically wrapping eating utensils 12in napkin 14

[0032]12 eating utensils

[0033]14 napkin

[0034]15 interior surfaces of hoppers 16 for facing and surroundingeating utensils 12

[0035]16 hoppers for holding eating utensils 12 sortingly.

[0036]17 mouths of hoppers 16 for introducing eating utensils 12 intohoppers 16

[0037]18 tray for holding napkin 14

[0038]20 staging assembly for receiving napkin 14 from tray 18 andeating utensils 12 from hoppers 16 on top of napkin 14

[0039]22 wrapping assembly for wrapping napkin 14 around eating utensils12 so as to form wrapped set of eating utensils

[0040]24 banding assembly for providing band around, so as to holdtogether, wrapped set of eating utensils and form banded wrapped set ofeating utensils 26

[0041]26 banded wrapped set of eating utensils

Present Invention

[0042]30 improved device of present invention for automatically wrappingeating utensils 12 in napkin 14

[0043]32 ultraviolet light assembly

[0044]34 lid of ultraviolet light assembly 32

[0045]36 interior surface of lid 34 of ultraviolet light assembly 32 forfacing eating utensils 12 when lid 34 closes mouths 17 of hoppers 16

[0046]38 ultraviolet light reflective material of ultraviolet lightassembly 32

[0047]40 completely ultraviolet light reflective chambers of ultravioletlight assembly 32 for holding eating utensils 12

[0048]42 plurality of ultraviolet germicidal lamps of ultraviolet lightassembly 32

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0049] Referring now to the figures, in which like numerals indicatelike parts, and particularly to FIG. 2, which is a diagrammaticperspective view of the present invention, the improved device of thepresent invention is shown generally at 30 for automatically wrappingthe eating utensils 12 in the napkin 14.

[0050] The improvement comprises an ultraviolet light assembly 32disposed in each of the hoppers 16 and generating ultraviolet lightdirectly upon all surfaces of the eating utensils 12 after the eatingutensils 12 have been loaded into the hoppers 16 so as to sanitize theeating utensils 12 from contaminates the eating utensils 12 picked priorto, and during, loading of the eating utensils 12 into the hoppers 16.

[0051] The configuration of the ultraviolet light assembly 32 can bestbe seen in FIG. 3, which is an enlarged diagrammatic top plan view takenin the direction of ARROW 3 in FIG. 2 of the ultraviolet light assemblyof the present invention, and as such, will be discussed with referencethereto.

[0052] The improvement further comprises the ultraviolet light assembly32 comprising a lid 34 cooperating with, and selectively closing themouths 17 of, the hoppers 16.

[0053] The improvement further comprises the lid 34 having an interiorsurface 36 for facing the eating utensils 12 when the lid 34 closes themouths 17 of the hoppers 16.

[0054] The improvement further comprises the ultraviolet light assembly32 further comprising a ultraviolet light reflective material 38directly covering all of the interior surface 36 of the lid 34 so as tocompletely line the lid 34 with the ultraviolet light reflectivematerial 38.

[0055] The improvement further comprises the ultraviolet lightreflective material 38 directly covering all of the interior surfaces 15of each of the hoppers 16 so as to completely line the hoppers 16 withthe ultraviolet light reflective material 38.

[0056] The improvement further comprises the ultraviolet lightreflective material 38 further directly covering all of the interiorsurfaces 15 of each of the hoppers 16 being continuous with theultraviolet light reflective material 38 directly covering all of theinterior surface 36 of the lid 34 when the lid 34 closes the mouths 17of the hoppers 16 so as to form completely ultraviolet light reflectivechambers 40 for holding the eating utensils 12.

[0057] The improvement further comprises the ultraviolet lightreflective material 38 being a sheet.

[0058] The improvement further comprises the ultraviolet light assembly32 further comprising a plurality of ultraviolet germicidal lamps 42disposed on the ultraviolet light reflective material 38 in the hoppers16.

[0059] The improvement further comprises the plurality of ultravioletgermicidal lamps 42 extending the heights of the interior surfaces ofthe hoppers 16 completely.

[0060] The improvement further comprises each of the ultravioletgermicidal lamps 42 being tubular.

[0061] The improvement further comprises each of the ultravioletgermicidal lamps 42 generating the ultraviolet light with a wavelengthof 253.7 nanometers for destroying bacteria and other microorganisms,including mold spores, yeast, and virus resident on the eating utensils12 loaded in the hoppers 16.

[0062] The improvement further comprises at least one ultravioletgermicidal lamp 42 extending along the ultraviolet light reflectivematerial 38 on each interior surface 15 of each hopper 16, and when thelid 24 closes the mouths 17 of the hoppers 16 and forms the completelyultraviolet light reflecting chambers 40, the ultraviolet lightgenerated by the plurality of ultraviolet germicidal lamps 42 reflectsoff all of the ultraviolet light reflective material 38 in thecompletely ultraviolet light reflecting chambers 40 and impacts upon allof the surfaces of the eating utensils 12, and in doing so, sanitizesthe eating utensils 12 from contaminates the eating utensils 12 pickedprior to, and during, loading of the eating utensils 12 into the hoppers16, while the lid 34 prevents the ultraviolet light from escaping fromthe completely ultraviolet light reflecting chambers 40 and into theambient, and in doing so, prevents the ultraviolet light from causingradiation sickness.

[0063] It will be understood that each of the elements described above,or two or more together, may also find a useful application in othertypes of constructions differing from the types described above.

[0064] While the invention has been illustrated and described asembodied in an improved device for automatically wrapping eatingutensils in a napkin, however, it is not limited to the details shown,since it will be understood that various omissions, modifications,substitutions and changes in the forms and details of the deviceillustrated and its operation can be made by those skilled in the artwithout departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention.

[0065] Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal thegist of the present invention that others can, by applying currentknowledge, readily adapt it for various applications without omittingfeatures that, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitutecharacteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention.

The invention claimed is:
 1. An improved device for automaticallywrapping eating utensils in a napkin of the type having hoppers forholding the eating utensils sortingly and having interior surfaces withheights for facing and surrounding the eating utensils and mouths forintroducing the eating utensils therein, a tray for holding the napkin,a staging assembly operatively connected to the hoppers and to the trayfor receiving the napkin from the tray and the eating utensils from thehoppers on top of the napkin, a wrapping assembly operatively connectedto the staging assembly for wrapping the napkin around the eatingutensils so as to form a wrapped set of eating utensils, and a bandingassembly operatively connected to the wrapping assembly for providing aband around, so as to hold together, the wrapped set of eating utensils,said improvement comprising an ultraviolet light assembly disposed ineach of the hoppers and generating ultraviolet light directly upon allsurfaces of the eating utensils after the eating utensils have beenloaded into the hoppers so as to sanitize the eating utensils fromcontaminates the eating utensils picked up prior to, and during, loadingof the eating utensils into the hoppers.
 2. The improved device asdefined in claim 1, wherein said improvement further comprises saidultraviolet light assembly comprising a lid cooperating with, andselectively closing the mouths of, the hoppers.
 3. The improved deviceas defined in claim 2, wherein said improvement further comprises saidlid having an interior surface for facing the eating utensils when saidcloses the mouths of the hoppers.
 4. The improved device as defined inclaim 3, wherein said improvement further comprises said ultravioletlight assembly further comprising a ultraviolet light reflectivematerial directly covering all of said interior surface of said lid soas to completely line said lid with said ultraviolet light reflectivematerial.
 5. The improved device as defined in claim 4, wherein saidimprovement further comprises said ultraviolet light reflective materialfurther directly covering all of the interior surfaces of each of thehoppers so as to completely line the hoppers with said ultraviolet lightreflective material.
 6. The improved device as defined in claim 5,wherein said improvement further comprises said ultraviolet lightreflective material directly covering all of the interior surfaces ofeach of the hoppers being continuous with said ultraviolet lightreflective material directly covering all of said interior surface ofsaid lid when said lid closes the mouths of the hoppers so as to formcompletely ultraviolet light reflective chambers for holding the eatingutensils.
 7. The improved device as defined in claim 4, wherein saidimprovement further comprises said ultraviolet light reflective materialbeing a sheet.
 8. The improved device as defined in claim 6, whereinsaid improvement further comprises said ultraviolet light assemblyfurther comprising a plurality of ultraviolet germicidal lamps disposedon said ultraviolet light reflective material in said hoppers.
 9. Theimproved device as defined in claim 8, wherein said improvement furthercomprises said plurality of ultraviolet germicidal lamps extending theheights of the interior surfaces of the hoppers completely.
 10. Theimproved device as defined in claim 8, wherein said improvement furthercomprises each of said ultraviolet germicidal lamps being tubular. 11.The improved device as defined in claim 8, wherein said improvementfurther comprises each of said ultraviolet germicidal lamps generatingsaid ultraviolet light with a wavelength of 253.7 nanometers fordestroying bacteria and other microorganisms, including mold spores,yeast, and virus resident on the eating utensils loaded in the hoppers.12. The improved device as defined in claim 8, wherein said improvementfurther comprises at least one ultraviolet germicidal lamp extendingalong said ultraviolet light reflective material on each interiorsurface of each hopper, and when said lid closes the mouths of thehoppers and forms said completely ultraviolet light reflecting chambers,said ultraviolet light generated by said plurality of ultravioletgermicidal lamps reflects off all of said ultraviolet light reflectivematerial in said completely ultraviolet light reflecting chambers andimpacts upon all of the surfaces of the eating utensils, and in doingso, sanitizes the eating utensils from contaminates the eating utensilspicked prior to, and during, loading of the eating utensils into thehoppers, while said lid prevents said ultraviolet light from escapingfrom said completely ultraviolet light reflecting chambers and into theambient, and in doing so, prevents said ultraviolet light from causingradiation sickness.